In case you’ve been missing it (as I have!), Turner Classic Movies is well into its annual fete, “31 Days of Oscar.” The link takes you to the official Web site, which, as you might expect, is slick and clever but frankly a little confusing—a very “retro” Web site that’s really kind of fun after you figure it out. Think of it as a game. If I understand correctly, today’s theme is “Washington, D.C.” Understandable. Happy birthday, George. We threw you a party last Monday.

Yep, it soon will be gardening season. In fact, this is the best part, like football season, before your team has played its first game. You can dream big this time of year. I’ll be the first to admit, I’m coming off a succession of losing seasons. Gardening, I mean. If you talk about it, many people will tell you it isn’t as easy to grow vegetables as it once was. Everyone has a litany of problems they swear they didn’t have in the not-so-distant past. Maybe it’s selective memory, but I think maybe it’s all those miracle products we depend on these days. And the heat. I’m planning this year to plant my “sun-loving” vegetables in partial shade to see if I get better results. Stay tuned for further exciting developments.

It’s the week of Mardi Gras! Many of you probably have heard by now that the first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States was held in 1703, in Mobile, Alabama, then the capital of French Louisiana. No, the Bacchanalia in New Orleans is not the oldest Mardi Gras party, and it hardly is the only one in the U.S. today, not even counting all those Chamber-of-Commerce Mardi Gras springing up all over North America. Wherever the French got to the New World first, you’re liable to find a lenten-related carnival of some sort, which on the Gulf coast means from the Florida Panhandle to Texas. Here is an article from The New Haven Register, surely an impartial observer on this subject, that lists 10 well-established Mardi Gras cities in the United States and elsewhere. Maybe you can visit one before someone says, “Did you hear about (insert your name here.)”

I have bad news for the anti-cat forces out there. I have been surprised, myself, by the number of people who come up to me at the book signings and say something like, “We really like the cat! We have 12 ourselves, and they’re all just like Ludwig!” Now, I like the cat cartoons, or I wouldn’t do them. However, I’d always thought of the Ludwig fans more as fans of cats and cat humor primarily and, maybe, fans of A&J secondarily. This may have been an oversimplification on my part. It seems a lot of genuine fans of the strip don’t think of Ludwig apart. I may have to rush up the release date on that second book, the one of cat cartoons! I told you it was bad news for the anti-cat crowd.

I don’t have a lot of time today, but I thought I should say something if only to get you off onion and banana sandwiches. Oddly enough, the current A&J involves eating as well. I have to admit, I encourage you. Today’s strip also includes one of those odd expressions I love to use now and then, to keep you on your toes.
The next book signing, by the way, should be a big one. It’s in Memphis Saturday, Feb. 25, at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, the old Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Rest assured, I will eat some barbecue in Memphis! Also, I hope to have something definite arranged in Nashville very soon.